Forever

Chills.

If any song could even begin to sum up the immense importance of Good Friday, it would be Forever. No words could adequately express the pain, love, and the fulfilling victory that were in play on the day that Jesus was crucified. Just listening to the words of this song gives me chills. How can Someone love us this much?
But He does, and He did. It was indeed a Good Friday for humankind on that day over 2000 years ago, and I couldn’t be more grateful that Jesus willingly chose to die in the most humiliating, painful way possible… for me, for us, and for the world.

The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death, where is your sting?
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated!

Forever He is glorified
Forever He is lifted high
Forever He is risen
He is alive, He IS alive!

Hope in Christ

Happy Palm Sunday! This week leading up to Easter is my favorite time of the year (even more so than my birthday, which is a lot). I’ve been asked: is it because of the bunnies? Or the Easter eggs? Or the chocolate?

Well, not quite.

Easter is my favorite time of the year because of one main reason: the sheer hope that it represents for us all. Maybe it seems trivial, but hope? That’s a priceless gift that’s worth getting excited about, and it’s one I’ve come to treasure greatly over the past couple of years. If anyone’s ever thought about life and what it is we are all here for on this Earth, without hope of any kind, there is literally no reason for life. I mean, if we have nothing to put our hope in, and nothing to hope for, what’s the point? Is the point to just go through the daily metro, boulot, dodo routine of life, die, and be done? Even if we want to be noble and say, “Well, I want to leave a legacy behind” or “I want to make an impact on this world through some good deeds,” what is the point if there is no hope of that legacy or those deeds meaning something beyond this finite world? In my eyes, there would be no point.

We’re all searching for something to inject meaning into our lives. Different people seem to find that meaning through various avenues, but for me, the absolute best way I’ve found purpose for my life is through the unending hope that comes from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Because of my salvation through Christ, I have hope of an eternal life beyond my present one, and all the Earthly work for Christ and His kingdom are building blocks for those glorious future days. That’s what Easter’s about, which is why I love it: it’s about remembering and being thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and celebrating His resurrection, which brought the free gift of salvation – and consequentially, hope – into the world. Continue reading

Arise

Happy Easter – He is risen! I’m so very thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross…it’s a truly incredible act of love to think of on this day and to cherish as a child of God. I couldn’t help but wake up with a smile (really…I was serious about Easter being one of my favorite times of the year!) – knowing that Jesus, the King of Heaven, died thousands of years ago as a man to create a way for us to have a meaningful relationship with God is completely overwhelming, in an awesome way. I’ll never get over it, because I can’t wrap my mind around that kind of unending grace and love! What an awesome gift to be thankful for.

Woven in time, the scarlet string
To breathe and create a sacred thing

The fight we’re in has already been won

Arise, for the kingdom has come
Arise, for the kingdom has come

 

Love in the Time of Easter

It’s so easy to witness, yet so difficult to express: the mother of all virtues, the “greatest of these.”

It’s an emotion, an action, a word.

It can’t be contained by anyone’s definition, or whittled down to a sole meaning. So what is this it?

Love.

One of my favorite times of the year is now: the week of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter. For me, it’s a time filled with incredible hope, joy, and especially love. This April, I’ve been studying the virtue of love as a fruit of the Spirit – in other words, how are the different ways I can express Godly love to those around me? What does it mean to love others as God loves me? Love is clearly complex, but I’ve lately become so aware of the many nuances surrounding it. Its sheer complexity shocked me, such that one morning a few days ago, I thought to myself, There’s just no way I can fully understand it! Which, in hindsight, is just as well – if God is love (1 John 4:8), and there’s no way for our human minds to ever completely understand God, then it makes sense that it can be a doozy to wrap our minds around the concept of love. Continue reading

Easter 2013

These past couple of weeks have been ones full of firsts and lasts. I participated in my first 5K (half-marathon, here I come!), helped host a booth at my university’s Culture Fair (participated AND hosted), and performed a dance in front of hundreds of people for the first time for Soul Night (also my first time even going). I also attended my last Associate’s Night at Brown, and just had my last spring recess as an undergrad; I’m also looking forward to my last three weeks in college.

So many firsts, so many lasts (pictures below)! Eeesh.

Almost like how I felt when I neared the end of East of Eden (one of my favorite books, but just imagine your own favorite, extra-long book here), it’s exhilarating to complete one chapter and begin the next, knowing you’re so close to finishing it. For me, the last chapter of my undergrad career is fast approaching, and a new one titled “Gap Year Before Medical School” is coming up, which I’m extremely excited for (I know, I know… no one wants to graduate yet, but bleh I’m ready). It’ll be a short, yet pivotal one that I’m sure to enjoy, whatever it may bring. Besides all that, reflecting on all these firsts and lasts I’ve experienced recently moved my mind to the subject of this week: Easter.

Continue reading